


Luck

by roebling



Category: K-pop, Winner (Kpop)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 19:17:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roebling/pseuds/roebling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After striking out two times before, Mino is starting to think his third attempt at debuting is cursed. Taehyun's not so sure he believes in that kind of thing. (Set during WIN)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Luck

**Author's Note:**

> Wahhhh first Winner ficlet *_____* Just feeling out how to write about these boys. They've snuck into my heart so quickly!

It's way too late. They have a competition tomorrow and they should be sleeping but Mino can't and Taehyun is a night owl in the best of circumstances. They're in Taehyun's room, since he has the privilege of a single. Taehyun is sitting backwards in his desk chair. Mino is lying on the bed with his hands on his face.

"I'm cursed," he says dramatically.

Taehyun rolls his eyes. "Okay," he says. "So should I call a priest? They can splash you with holy water and perform an exorcism. Or maybe we need to go to a temple and have monks chant over you for a while?"

Mino kicks at him, flailing and far off his mark, then groans. "This frail body of mine!"

Taehyun rolls his eyes again. Mino's a good guy, and since their one little blow up right after filming started they've gotten much closer. The dramatics are a bit much, though.

"Seungyoon hyung hurt his neck, Seunghoon hyung hurt his back, my shoulder is killing me ..." He sighs. "Jinwoo hyung better watch out or he's going to be the only one to make it to the finale in one piece."

Mino huffs. "Yeah but like, I knew this was going to happen."

"You can predict the future? If this doesn't work out maybe you can open one of those fortune stalls in a market somewhere."

Mino kicks again. He's not taking much care for someone whose injured ankle is a preordained curse ...

"You don't get it," he says. "I've already done this twice before. This is my third shot. Dude, if I screw this up I'm not gonna get another chance. I'm already getting long in the tooth ..."

"You're a year older than me."

" ... yeah, and you're no spring chicken yourself, Nam Taehyun."

Taehyun's starting to worry that he's going to roll his eyes so hard they'll get stuck. 

"You just had some bad luck ... I mean, maybe those other two times were just false starts. Maybe they didn't work out because you're supposed to be here, now. With us."

Mino wrinkles his nose. "Why'd I hurt my ankle then? Why'd Seungyoonie get made leader?"

"Because you're a clumsy oaf," Taehyun says, "and because Seungyoon has a serious control problem. Honestly, would you even want to be leader with that kid around? He'd be backseat leading left and right ..."

"Backseat leading?" Mino looks over, grinning. "I like that."

"Ugh," Taehyun says. "Shut up. I'm tired. You know what I mean! Seungyoon hyung is going to be a good leader. He wants to be in charge of everything anyway."

Mino is quiet.

"You would have been a good leader, too," Taehyun says, maybe a moment too late. "I didn't mean you wouldn't have been a good leader, hyung."

"Ahhh," Mino says, stretching his arms out over his head. "It's just a what-if now. All of this is going to be a what-if, soon."

Taehyun stands up. "Well, I plan on winning, hyung, so get over it." He glares at Mino, who isn't looking. "And right now, I plan on sleeping."

Mino doesn't get up. He rolls over onto his side. "Taehyun-ah, let me sleep here tonight."

Taehyun shakes his head. He needs his rest.

"Taehyun-ah, I'm scared of the dark. Plus Seungyoon is going to yell at me if I come in and wake him up." Mino puffs up his cheeks and widens his eyes.

"Ugh," Taehyun says, "fine."

"Yay!" Mino is shimmying in place, on his back. "Sleepover in Nam Taehyun's room!"

*****

The next day, Mino's ankle is better but not healed and the hustle back stage is seems more familiar than the first time they did this. Taehyun doesn't feel totally overwhelmed — just mostly. They're better at performing on stage now. They only need to do one run through for the camera rehearsal, and then they can wait while the kids do theirs.

They're all sitting nervously and waiting — Jinwoo is tugging on the strings of his sweatshirt (upgraded to black for the stage) and Seungyoon is humming to himself and Seunghoon is jiggling his foot.

"Hey," Taehyun says, poking Mino in the side. "Come here for a second."

The others are too nervous to pay much attention as they wander a little ways down the hall. The harried stage hands don't bother them at all.

Mino looks at him, serious and concerned. "What's wrong?"

Taehyun shrugs. "Listen," he says, "I didn't mean to act like it was a joke last night."

"What?" Mino's eyebrows knit.

"Your leg," Taehyun says. "And you being under a terrible curse to like, only debut in sappy ballad groups ..."

Mino punches him. 

"Kidding! Kidding. Seriously though, maybe you are under a curse or something ..." 

Mino's face smooths out. "I was just messing around with that," he says. "I mean, it is pretty uncanny and everything but do I really think I've been placed under an unbreakable curse by an evil demon? It could be, but what demon would want to contend with the might of Song Mino?"

"Yeah," Taehyun says, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Well I want you to have this."

He presses the present into Mino's hand.

Mino holds it up, frowning. "What is it?"

"It's a talisman," Taehyun says. He glances at the floor. "For good luck. My grandmother gave it to me."

"Taehyun-ah," Mino says, voice grave. "I can't take this."

Taehyun shrugs. "Well just hold on to it for now," he says. "If your luck changes, you can give it back or whatever."

Mino's eyes are all big and sparkly, like he's halfway through transforming into an anime character. "Taehyun-ah."

"Yeah, yeah," Taehyun says. "I probably never told you thank you for like, helping me and stuff. So ..."

"Taehyun-ah!"

Taehyun shifts his feet. "It's really not ..."

His words are choked off as Mino wraps him in a suffocating hug.

"Ugh," he says.

"Thank you, maknae." Mino's cheek is pressed to his cheek. His skin is warm and soft, and he smells kind of nice. "Maybe you're right. Maybe my luck's about to change. Maybe this is where I'm supposed to be."

*****

"Ten minutes," the stagehand says.

It's almost time. Taehyun stands up. "Bathroom," he mutters. Nobody's paying attention.

In the restroom he takes the plastic bag and the price tag out of his pocket and shoves them in the garbage can. There's almost no chance Mino will come in here, but better to properly dispose of the evidence anyway. It might impact the effectiveness of the talisman if Mino realizes it cost 500 won at a trinket shop down the street from the dorm. 

Ok. This is it. They're going to own this stage. They're going to win today. He splashes cold water on his face. He can do this. He's always known he can (except when he worries he can't). Maybe he should have gotten a luck talisman of his own. Maybe there is something to all that superstitious nonsense ... but he remembers how warm Mino's cheek had been against his, and how good it had felt. Nah. Nam Taehyun can make his own luck.


End file.
